Muncie Business Owner Arrested on Immigration Charges
(photo courtesy of All Steel Carports)
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe owner of a carport manufacturer in Muncie has been arrested on immigration-related. The Star-Press reports All Steel Carports owner Ignacio Chavez-Castillo allegedly employed undocumented workers, paying them “grossly reduced wages.”
The publication cites a federal complaint, which alleges Chavez concealed the additional profits “from these illegal activities through real estate investments and by transferring funds abroad.”
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security last week raided the company’s Muncie headquarters
“Since 2001, All Steel Carports has grown into a successful business servicing more than twenty states, employing more than 100 people, and investing millions of dollars into the community that we call home,” the company said in a statement to the Star-Press. “During this time, we have operated legally and ethically, following all local, state, and federal laws, and will continue to do so.”
Chavez faces charges of conspiracy to harbor aliens and to encourage and induce illegal aliens to enter and reside in the United States, as well as conspiracy to commit money laundering.
The complaint also alleges that All Steel potentially committed fraud to obtain a loan from the federal Paycheck Protection Program, though no such charges have been filed, according to the publication.
The arrest comes as All Steel is in the midst of constructing a $2 million manufacturing and sales office in Yorktown.
You can read the full story from the Star-Press by clicking here.